China outplays Denmark to reach Sudirman Cup semis

China's badminton team scraped past Denmark 3-2 to secure a semifinal spot at the 2021 Sudirman Cup, reported Xinhua.

He Jiting and Zhou Haodong were overturned by the Danish duo of Anders Skaarup Rasmussen and Frederik Sogaard, 21-17, 16-21, 19-21 in the opening men's doubles match.

Zhou Haodong rued the defeat while leading for most of the time. "We had led 8-2 in the third set and kept the lead until 19-19. We're probably not patient enough by losing too many consecutive points," he told Xinhua.

Affected by the first game, Chen Yufei lost the first set, 21-18, in the women's singles against Mia Blichfeldt. However, she fought back to gain her own pace and won the following two sets, 21-8, 21-17.

"Maybe I was thinking too much like I need to win back the point for China," said the Tokyo Olympics champion.

The two top players had not met for two years in world tournaments. Chen reminded that every time they played before, there must be tough competition.

"No matter how hard it would be, there always are chances to turn the tide as long as I stuck to my own style. She played good defense, did not miss any chance to save shots. I tried to make more moves instead of sharp attacking. It's a challenge for energy," said Chen.

Danish superstar Viktor Axelsen finished strong against Shi Yuqi, winning 21-17, 21-14 in the men's singles.

The Tokyo Olympics gold medalist showed the same power as in the quarterfinal of the Olympics, where he also defeated Shi.

"I'd like to play against the shuttlers like Shi, but he has been through some injuries, I think. I'm happy to be here and take the win for the team," said Axelsen, "It means a lot to me. Every win against China is super important. It gives me more confidence."

Some players complain about the slow speed of the shuttle in the venue of Energy Arena in Vantaa, Finland, but Axelsen thinks differently.

"I don't really mind. It might be good for the spectators. People will enjoy the long matches. Lots of things could happen. Nobody wants to see the game with one or two shots to the end," said Axelsen.

The world No. 2 women's duo of Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan helped the Chinese team to level 2-2 by smashing Maiken Fruergaard and Sara Thygesen, 21-10, 21-13.

Tokyo Olympics champion duo Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping won the deciding battle for China, beating Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje 21-18, 21-12 in the mixed doubles.

"Anyone who plays the deciding match would be under great pressure, so do I," said Huang, "Though we won the match, it's definitely not the time to relax."

China will meet South Korea in the semis on Saturday.